Floating Immortal Order

Chapter 64: The People of the Fa Territory

Chapter 64: The People of the Fa Territory

In the eyes of Chen Xingzhou and his attendants, Xu Disheng seemed like the most ordinary of disciples who had just entered the Sea of Qi stage, so they didn’t pay him any particular attention. But when Xu Disheng walked past Wang Jun, he eyed him and said, “Stop right there.”

Xu Disheng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Wang Jun. “What is it?”

He didn’t even spare him the respect of calling him Senior Martial Brother, since Wang Jun had really been acting rather arrogant and bossy, making others around him miserable.

Wang Jun peered closely at Xu Disheng’s Daoist robe, a suspicious expression on his face. “Why are there so many black lines on this Daoist robe?” he asked.

A trace of killing intent flashed through Xu Disheng’s slightly lowered gaze, but he concealed it immediately. He replied indifferently, “What does it have to do with you?”

Wang Jun was extremely dissatisfied with Xu Disheng’s attitude. An angry scowl crossed his face as he shouted, “Unappreciative bastard! You’re a new disciple to this Peak, yet you didn’t even call me Senior Martial Brother. You don’t even know how to respect your superiors!”

Wang Jun stretched out his palm and summoned forth a spiraling orb of green profound qi, on the verge of releasing it at Xu Disheng.

Li Dan and Xi Jingshan weren’t standing that far away. When they saw what was happening, their expressions were filled with anxiety, but they didn’t dare to speak up and interfere. After all, Wang Jun was at the peak of the Sea of Qi stage, and he also had Chen Xingzhou behind him, whom they couldn’t dare to offend.

The other 8 people in the group, as well as some of the lingering veteran and newcomer disciples who hadn’t yet dispersed, stopped to watch the situation. They had curious expressions in their eyes as they looked over at the ruckus.

Chen Xingzhou’s cold voice rang out. “Wang Jun.”

Wang Jun’s outstretched hand stopped in midair, and the profound light dissipated. But the angry look in his eyes hadn’t faded. He wordlessly glared at Xu Disheng for a moment before returning to his position behind Chen Xingzhou.

Chen Xingzhou walked over and said, “Junior Martial Brother Wang usually enjoys researching Seals. He must have thought that there was some new kind of seal engraved on your standardized Daoist robe, so he must have gotten too caught up in it. Please don’t mind it.”

Xu Disheng restrained the mysterious black light revolving in his eyes before replying lightly, “No problem.”

With that, he walked off towards Xi Jingshan and Li Dan.

Chen Xingzhou stared at Xu Disheng’s back as he walked away, an inexplicable look in his eyes.

The anger in Wang Jun’s eyes diminished by a lot. He looked at Xu Disheng as if he was looking at someone who was already dead.

Xu Disheng further confirmed that Chen Xingzhou and his two attendants were conspiring. A grand majority of the Shangqing Sacred Sect’s missions were doable within their own territory. After all, the Sacred Sect had jurisdiction over millions and millions of li of land. No matter if it was monsters, ghosts, mortals, or river deities, and so on, all of them had to pay respect to the Shangqing Sacred Sect.

This time, they actually had to leave the sect. On top of that, Chen Xingzhou had gone out of his way to choose only newcomer disciples. It was considered pretty normal for disciples who recently joined a Peak to end up as casualties in sect missions.

There was another point that the newcomer disciples had unintentionally overlooked. Although the sect rules seemed extremely strict, as soon as they left sect territory and were in the middle of a mission, the rules would no longer be as strictly upheld.

Xu Disheng laughed quietly. If Wang Jun had really dared to attack him just now, he would have immediately unleashed the Passing Soul Mantra that he had been revolving in his sea of consciousness and truly let him know the meaning of a ‘silent death’.

On the other hand, Wang Jun was still totally unaware of the fact that he had just stepped away from the edge of the pit to hell. In the first place, he wasn’t thinking of hitting that hard. After all, they were still on Morning Dew Peak, and no one would dare to brazenly violate the sect rules by murdering a fellow disciple.

The only thing Wang Jun would have never fathomed was that Xu Disheng actually didn’t care too much about the sect rules. If someone were to attack him, he would just directly kill them, no matter where they were. Was there really for him to silently endure such treatment? If the road of a profound cultivator was really so stifling and dull, it would be better for him to just die and be reincarnated a day sooner. There wouldn’t be any need for him to pursue the truths about his previous life.

If one’s values weren’t clearly defined, barriers in the heart would exist. As soon as there was something obstructing one’s Dao Heart, then they might stay stuck at the Sea of Qi stage forever, unable to improve an inch until their dying day.

Seeing that there was no scene to be witnessed, the loitering disciples gradually dispersed. After this matter occurred, they pretty much all formed some impression of Xu Disheng.

One of the intelligent veteran disciples nearby laughed coldly to himself and muttered, “Death is near at hand, and they don’t even know. How could Chen Xingzhou be a pushover? Who knows if even a single one of those newcomer disciples will return.”

The sky gradually darkened, but the Mingxin Mountain Range was still bright, as if it wasn’t night at all. Each of the several hundred Mountain Peaks was letting off different levels of light, illuminating the horizon. In the air, there were countless beams of light of varying sizes, flashing and disappearing within moments like falling stars. It was an extremely beautiful spectacle to behold. Even the three moons in the sky slightly paled in comparison to that sight of the myriad of streaking, multi-colored lights.

One of those bigger purple beams of light was Chen Xingzhou’s party of 14. The flying-type Spirit Tool that Chen Xingzhou was flying was an extremely large purple Spirit Cloud. Although its speed was average and couldn’t compare to Bai Zhehua’s giant sword in that aspect, it was much more spacious and comfortable.

The group on board was gathered together in groups of 3 to 5. Xi Jingshan had returned to his habitually reticent style, while Li Dan was rather excited. He looked down at the Mountain Peaks flitting past them below and said to Xu Disheng with a grin, “It’s already been 10 years since joining the sect and entering Outer Region, and I hadn’t left the sect since then. Oh right! Junior Martial Brother Xu, what Province did you come from?”

As Xu Disheng sat there on the cloud, his bangs blew lightly in the wind, occasionally revealing his fair forehead. The youth’s shapely black eyes hid a bright magnificence within. When he heard what Li Dan asked him, he paused a bit before answering, “I actually didn’t come from the Human Realm.”

Li Dan looked a bit puzzled, and lowered his head in contemplation. An idea suddenly seemed to hit him and he said, “Are you from a Secret Mortal Realm then? It’s really not easy, being able to escape from that cage and come to the real world.”

Xu Disheng lightly shook his head and replied, “What do you mean by ‘real’? It’s just the difference between intact and damaged. No matter if it’s the confined Secret Mortal Realms or the vast Human Realm, both are still ‘real’.”

In the past, Xu Disheng had stood on the balcony of his pavilion in the Ruyang Region’s Xu Clan property in Zhenhai City, watching the hundred shapes of human life. Those mortals who lived in the small, cloistered land of the Secret Realm would never know the truth. They would only go through the happiness and sorrows of their life as it fleetingly passed by. Why would anyone bother to tell them that the reality they were living in was a lie?

Xu Disheng heard these kinds of remarks all too often. Even Daoist Lord Qingxin, who was his first teacher, often referred to mortals of the Secret Realm as ‘primitive aboriginals’ and viewed them as lowly as livestock.

Xi Jingshan suddenly spoke up, his tone rather downcast. “I also came from the Secret Mortal Realms. The Fa Territory of the 17th Secret Mortal Realm.”

Li Dan turned around, a look of astonishment on his face. Normally, no one who came from the Mortal Secret Realms would willingly speak up about their origin.

Xi Jingshan looked at Xu Disheng. His tone changed slightly as he said, “I used to be a really cheerful and lively kid. I had a stable and happy household, and my parents and relatives all lived in one courtyard. Although we weren’t considered rich, our big family was harmonious and full of joy and warmth.”

He continued, “That courtyard was so familiar, so warm to me. Every night after we all finished laboring in the fields, we would eat dinner together… It was always a time full of cheer and laughter. But once the Prefectural Army stepped in, everything changed.”

Xi Jingshan’s voice began to slightly tremble as he said, “They grabbed all of the kids of appropriate age and forced them to have their Dao Channels measured. Those who didn’t have any Dao Channels were fine. They were returned to their homes, and lived happily ever after. But…!”

His hand curled into a fist, bitter resentment dripping from his voice. “I just had to have these wretched Profound Meridians! The Prefectural Army murdered my parents! They slaughtered all of my relatives! All just to make sure that I ‘wouldn’t have anything else to worry about’!”

“Then, they brought me in front of the master of the Fa Territory. Including me, there were 10 children who had the same fate. They slaughtered all of our clans, leaving none alive! It was only later that I found out that they pull this scheme every 10 or so years. Just how many clans were scattered and broken by them?! So many warm, beautiful memories of the past, all stained with blood!” Xi Jingshan released his tightly clenched fists, his tone becoming flat and indifferent. He continued quietly, “Now, my life’s sole purpose is to break through to that cultivation realm past the Dao Foundation stage and destroy the Fa Territory in the 17th Secret Mortal Realm. I will do anything to accomplish this.”

The Realm Lord of each Secret Mortal Realm was different. The Realm Lord of the Chu Territory, which Xu Disheng was from, was much better in comparison. Emperor Chu didn’t really care much about anything in particular, since he was focused on trying to break through to the Dao Foundation stage.

Meanwhile, the Realm Lord of the Fa Territory was clearly one of those kinds of people who enjoyed massacres and unleashing bloodbaths at the drop of a hat, and truly treated the aboriginals of the Mortal Secret Realms like swine.

After hearing Xi Jingshan’s story, Li Dan was stunned into silence.

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